Every year, the Felixstowe Coastguard Rescue Team braces itself for New Year's Eve. Not because of the parties or the fireworks — those are fine — but because of the flares. Distress flares, the kind carried on boats and sold in chandleries, have a habit of appearing at coastal celebrations, and each one that goes up triggers a search and rescue response that costs time, money, and potentially puts lives at risk.
The team issued a clear and direct warning: do not use flares as part of displays or for entertainment. It sounds obvious, but it happens every year, and the consequences can be serious. When a flare is spotted from the shore, coastguard teams are obliged to treat it as a genuine distress signal until proven otherwise. That means launching lifeboats, scrambling helicopters, and pulling volunteers away from their own celebrations to search for a vessel in trouble that doesn't exist.
The Felixstowe Coastguard Rescue Team is a volunteer organisation. The men and women who respond to callouts are giving up their time — and in some cases, their safety — to help people in genuine need. A false alarm triggered by a celebratory flare doesn't just waste resources; it potentially delays the response to a real emergency happening somewhere else.
The message from the team was simple: if you want to celebrate by the sea, use fireworks, sparklers, or simply enjoy the view. Leave the flares on the boat, or better still, dispose of them properly through a recognised scheme. The coastline around Felixstowe is beautiful, and the sea can be unforgiving. The people who keep watch over it deserve our respect — and our cooperation.
